i really love this track and have been meaning to post it for a while. ever since forthebeat used it in their printemps mix, i've been rocking out to it - especially after i saw sunglasses live at forthebeat's spring party @ home sweet home at the beginning of april. it was real obvious that these guys know how to have a good time (shaking the stage type of guys) and they really engaged the crowd.
the two dudes behind sunglasses, 8000 bam bam and baby seal, worked on dialogue and original music for a thesis film together in college and found that they collaborated so well that they had to do it again. they made the right choice, thank goodness.
and check out the video for the track - it's got a strange connect to eastbound and down, the effects are interesting, and it represents the aesthetic of the band real well. if you know what i'm talking about, you'll know what i'm talking about. what's up, what's up:
i was looking around today for information about the band BMX, and stumbled on the young paris label sister phunk which put together a series of promo videos when they released their compilation "18 airs du temps." unfortunately, the whole compilation still isn't available in the US, but grab the EP on itunes here. i only know about a few of the bands on there- BMX, the golden filter, passion pit and cfcf. this compilation is a definite must buy - it's on the same level of valerie and friends, but sister phunk crosses genre a little bit more.
anyway, one of the bands i'm just finding out about is called yes giantess - because sister phunk has one of their tracks on the compilation. these guys are fucking awesome / they're from boston. i've been listening to the tracks on their myspace for a while now - they remind me of a heavier and more serious version of MGMT's older (1st EP), and i'd say better, stuff. other things you might hear: a kavinsky style 80s heavy guitar ("the ruins"), occasional michael jackson sounding vocals ("can't help it"). in other words, yes giantess are of greatness. they are still unsigned - but are moving quickly forward. expect to see (and hear) more of them in the near future. i'm serious. they are going to be HUGE.
i want an LP so so so bad. right now, they've got two EPs available on neon gold records - check it here.
At this point, you may or may not have seen the new M.I.A. video for her new track, Born Free, that seems to be popping up everywhere on the web right now. The video has already racked up hundreds of thousands of views after two days up on Vimeo. Its good, I like it, it makes a statement, but this director has done better work. Which brings us to tonight's post!
This video is one of my favorites and has been for a while. The track used for the video is Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk's edit of Signature by DJ Mehdi. This character is incredible and what it leads up to is even more so! That competition at the end, it's a real thing; they call it dB drag racing. They reach sound levels of 180dB inside the vehicles - that's 32 times louder than a rock concert.
Director Romain Gavras has some serious talent, and I think his greatest skill is making his music videos feel genuine. He casts some of the most real and regular looking people. That combined with solid cinematography, editing, and a great ability to tell a story results in some great videos. His directing credits also include Stress by Justice as well as their documentary A Cross the Universe, and the music video for Simian Mobile Disco's track, I Believe.
house throw back to 2003. this remix is done with we in music (french house collaborations run by raw man) and buffalo bunch (raw man with play paul, now running as ryskee - that's paul de homem-christo, the brother of daft punk's guy manuel de homem-christo). in other words. i've been rocking out to this track for years and had NO IDEA who was behind it. i've, of course, been all about raw man and buffalo bunch, but have never heard of play paul. what an embarrassment. unfortunately, this dynamic duo is no longer together (they ran 96-03 apparently), but we can all enjoy a little history. not a lot of information out there about them-
bebel gilberto is a brazilian-american bossa-nova musician. great to hear some house tracks that aren't remixes of indie, electro, or other house music every once and a while!
with this track, the bass sweeps and isn't too heavy. the music will MOVE you. if you like earlier raw man and groups like cassius, you'll love this track. also, because of the way it samples from bossa-nova, you might also like it if you're a fan of the avalanches (come on new album!) or mylo.
This one is an old favorite that I would like to toss into the mix. The music video was directed by Jonathan Glazer. You may be familiar with his feature length movie Sexy Beast. He has directed a handful of solid music videos, don't be surprised if you see more of his work here in the future. The track, Rabbit In Your Headlights, is by UNKLE and it features Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Enjoy!
Awesome awesome awesome music video. Röyksopp has such a solid sound and aesthetic and this music video follows suit. The stylization and concept are spectacular; the use of Space Invaders in the real world is a fantastic idea! I love seeing old video games come to life. If you've never seen the 1993 film, Super Mario Bros, I recommend you find it.
This track is from Röyksopp's Junior, their third and most recent album. Be on the lookout for Junior's counterpart, a new album, Senior. It was originally slotted to be released late 2009, but has since been kept under the radar with little info out there. It said to be more instrumental and atmospheric, much different than the bright and energetic Junior. Svein Berge (half of Röyksopp) called it "the senile sibling of Junior who lives in the attic."
ALSO, they just started this “Track Of The Month” which they refer to as a service where fans can get their hands on some free, unreleased & exclusive Röyksopp material. You have to sign up, but it is totally worth it.
i was introduced to mylo back in 2006 and i still look at "destroy rock & roll" as one of the better house albums of the decade. he's also one of the few scottish musicians of this genre (that i've heard of anyway).
it's a classic house track, with vintage sounding vocals and a constant beat. definitely a throw back to 60s inspired 80s rock. it wasn't ever released because the band he sampled from wouldn't grant him rights. what a shame!
not a whole lot of information out there - but it looks like he's working on a new LP. feel the hype.
i keep a sticky note on my computer that has a list of songs and artists to check out. today, i revisited wave machines, and i'm really happy that i did. they've been around for a couple of years and i'm just hearing about them - come on now! they're following suit with a lot of music coming from europe right now, some of my favorite sounding stuff: smooth, funk style bass, and falsetto with an electronic feel. and that's just this single, not all of their music sounds the same. it's not all "smooth electro," they've also got a rock and an indie background. sometimes, i hear a little david bowie in there - check out the chorus for "punk spirit."
this single is a throw back to the 70s and disco, but it's also looking into the future. wave machines are for sure going to be around for a while. definitely check out some more tracks on their myspace and if you are REAL into it, make sure you buy some of their music on itunes.
i also put up their music video because the choreography is really inventive, the narrative of it is a little bizarre, and overall, it's just really good looking. i think that music videos are often half the battle for a lot of musicians, and this is a definite victory.
ok i know this is ALL over the blogosphere, but whatever, lifelike is in my top ten remixers - he is so good that he gets his own smart playlist in my itunes. so... i had to post this! every one of his tracks are solid - ever since i heard his fucking amazing track "so electric" from cut copy's so cosmic (also one of the best mixes of all time), i've been following him with a fiery passion. he's pretty versatile too, with roots in french house, but also he gets real nu-disco and he's feeling the 80s electro bidness too. sometime, i'll put some of his older stuff on here and i'm sure you'll love it too!!
I had to post this when I found it this morning. I had no idea this existed. I can't decide what my favorite part of this is... Eddie Murphy's style, the moment where Michael Jackson "sets the color free," the peace signs, or simply the name of the track. You got to love 1993.
these guys have been around for almost 20 years and i've never heard of them. i am ashamed, disappointed, and can't believe i've been living my life normally without knowing of their existence. as of yesterday, that's all changed. everything is right in the world now that i know about the apples in stereo, i'm happy and i feel more complete. they sound like a mix between the 60s, 70s, and 80s R&B, funk, electro, psychedelic music and disco. they appropriately refer to their sound as "70's AM radio filtered through a UFO."
their next album, "travellers in space and time" is out on simian / yep roc / elephant 6 (release april 20th). it's characterized with "intense pop hooks and electronic sounds, mixed with a pumping, get-up-and-moonwalk beat." the frontman for the band, robert schneider (the musician not the actor) says "i wanted to make a futuristic pop record, to reach out to the kids of the future." these guys are perfect - nailing that idea big time. i wish more bands created such great concepts for their albums.
i wasn't able to provide a download link here at youcantstopah for their first single, "dance floor," off of their LP, but here it is to stream AND if you head over to their portal website (www.stepthroughtheportal.com), you can download it there!
i bumped into their video for "dance floor" over at antville and i was blown away by the style of the video, the acting and the directing. they take a simple idea and make it absolutely perfect; an alternate universe where wood and schneider are both scientists (teacher and inventor, respectively) and then wood is transported to another alternate universe where his character is an award winning televised scientist and schneider plays some great music with a tight and bumpin' band. the video is totally rad and keeps pleasing / keeps you smiling; revealing hilarious device after device.
also, be sure to check out alternate universe elijah wood's tv show "exploring the universe" right here. and check out their website too (www.applesinstereo.com).
and finally - they are touring. for you northeasters, there are plenty of places to catch them perform:
Here we have a music video for a new track, Beautiful Losers by Hocus Pocus. I believe the video, directed by Wu Yué, hit the internet just today. The animation and the sound-synchronized editing is great, and on top of that I'm digging the track. The song itself as well as the rest of the album (16 Pièces, released March 15th) is a solid mix of hip hop, jazz and funk. Reminds me of Karl Denson with some Tower of Power folded in. Enjoy.
this track always reminds me of partying in the spring, great pump up, great build. it sounds like last minute BBQs without charcoal, cheap beer and then putting together a party that everyone hears from the streets and has to come dance.
one of my buddies called me last week and was like "what is that awesome track you used to play all the time about burning something all the way down?" well dude, this one is for you.
also midnight juggernauts are working on a new album. their debut lp is one of my favorites, so let's hope their sophomore will live up to it. no word on release, but they've released two really solid singles, "this new technology" and "vital signs." check out the music video for "vital signs" they do some really cool stuff using pixel tracking (i think) through their collaboration with krozm. they are a directing trio from melbourne and have worked with some amazing bands on some amazing videos - cut copy, van she, architecture in helsinki etc, etc.
i wanted to do something hot + spicy for our 69th post. keeping track of our post numbers let us post with number associations which is kind of fun and also kind of irrelevant.
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) is one of my all time favorite bands, i've been listening to them since 2003 or 2004, i don't remember exactly, just remember being young. they came up in my shuffle today and i felt like they've been neglected + they're from brooklyn. so here's some background - i was lucky enough to see them live in 2006 / 2007 when they were still rolling with most of their original line up (since then their 2nd drummer passed away and one of their vocalists left to pursue his equally kick-ass group free blood). i've seen a lot of shows and this still is the best ensemble show i've ever seen - a ton of people on stage - switching around instruments - the band dancing in the audience - nic offer grinding all up in their faces. i left the show with my ears ringing for days.
if you're unfamiliar with chk chk chk, they are often classified as dance-punk or post-disco with electronic bits and pieces. they have three albums and they're all amazing. check them out here and buy them too!
this remix was only available on a 12" single (when it was released in 04) and so its kind of a rarity - i ripped it myself by plugging a turntable into my computer. the quality is pretty "OK" because i ripped it long before i understood such things but i wanted to share the love anyway!
This is an extraordinary project. It's so creative and so clean. Perhaps the strange future of beatboxing and scratching? Or not. For some reason it makes me think of commercials from the 90's for cereal or fruit snacks.
The video is a serious collaboration comprised of hip hop artists, DJs, and a handful of artists specialized in visual and sound effects. Too many people to name, but do check out the Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc site for links to all of their websites. The site also has production stills giving a bit of insight into how the project was done, but not too much. It leaves quite a few questions unanswered, which is kind of nice.
et musique pour tous released an amazing mix tape (grab it here!) last fall for CMJ that i've been listening to almost non stop since. i only knew a few artists on the mix tape (hooray for earth, the golden filter, delorean, sebastien tellier) and i'm finally going through the tracklist and checking out all of the rest of the bands that i'm into.
among those bands is we have band. coming from LONDON they have some solid percussion (think cowbell from the rapture) and some post disco sound - over all some very similar influences to chkchkchk. they also carry some similarities to the better parts of bloc party. naturally, i like them.
carl craig's remix also has some post disco sounds - but the bass is really steady and the tempo isn't too quick. the drums are a little arena rock. it's a good pick me up. perfect for beers + bright lights + hanging out on the roof on a hot night. kind of like tonight!
I want to hang out with these guys! Well maybe not. Ronald, Jack, Colonel Sanders and the King, may be a little too much for me to handle. This music video, directed by Nicholaus Goossen, is stupidly fun (and possibly explicit - I warned you). It reminds me of what's been coming out of France, like it should be a Justice video or something else Ed Banger.
I'm digging the tune too, sounds like Breakbot. I can't find much about Rad Omen beyond the fact that it's a side project of DJ Troublemaker. Rad Omen has no other music at this point, but Troublemaker has an album and a handful of remixes for artists such as Phoenix and Matt & Kim. Check it out, the whole album is there in the embed:
the embedded version of this video was disabled (and therefore disappeared) because myspace + youtube won't allow it. watch the video HERE on youtube. this hot chip video for "i feel better" is amazing. something about hot chip sort of being played by a boy band, a crazy looking dude and a floating head is really confusing and rad at the same time. not sure what it means, but it's ballin.
i'm not going to host the track, but head over to hypem to see if it's around (i'm sure it is).
thanks to twitter, mitten reached out to me, i checked out their music and fuckin LOVED it. it's outside of my usual aesthetic on here, but it's ok because they are QUALITY. mitten is from brooklyn (represent) and is just starting up. they've been together for about a year and are finally getting the ball rolling on an EP. below are the first two tracks they've recorded. they are both short and SWEET.
this is a band to follow if you like simple electronic sounds mixed with an indie feel / beautiful sweeping progressions and complicated percussion. their sound is relaxed, earnest and oh man, it makes you feel really good.
if you've been following here for a while, you know how much i love odahl. he sounds like a swedish + more electro version of solo fred falke of the past (i like falke's older stuff better anyway). you can also put him in the same category as UK's louis la roche. i don't know if odahl's hit their level on the blogosphere, but he deserves it and he's on his way.
i've noticed there's been some buzz lately about one of the biggest up + coming house artists, so i had to get my shit together and post some of his new stuff. he just hooked me up with this track like half an hour ago and i know you'll like it! "hold me" is a blog only exclusive so download it AND share it. it sounds like odahl's got an EP in the works (for the summer). it'll be awesome, i'm sure. i'll keep you posted, cuties.
Awesome music video here for the track "Ten by Ten" by BlueBrain. It looks great, the plot is quite absurd, and the modeling and texturing are spectacular! This video was directed and animated by Gabe Askew. He is also responsible for the music video for Grizzly Bear's track Two Weeks. Enjoy.
This post is a bit off the beaten path, but this work is pretty incredible stuff. It's a compilation of sound sculptures and installations from Zimoun. All of the pieces adhere to a strict palette and often use similar materials. The precision and creativity of each sculpture is the most exciting aspect of the compilation. My favorites are the two that appear at 4:55 and 9:30 in the video.
